Anyone who has read my posts (I do have a few readers out there, right?) knows that I have a big problem with people looting or destroying archaeological sites. It must be my anthropology education, but the idea of history being treated like a commodity brings out the anger in me. Now, some like-minded individuals are putting together a means of combating at least half of the problem, that of looting.
Looting artifacts from sites or stealing them is an underground industry that brings in literally billions of dollars every year. The sheer numbers of missing artifacts make it very apparent how lucrative this business is. In Italy alone there are more than 500,000 artifacts known to have been stolen. One can only guess at how many have been taken from places like the highly unregulated and site-rich Middle East. But these thefts are difficult things to stop and it’s hard to track down those who are buying the items to recover them. Often, only after a museum has spent tons of money to acquire an artifact is it discovered to have been stolen, leaving them to return the piece and out the precious cash that they use to purchase the treasures they display.
